Iran nuclear diplomacy,WRAP newseries
11 Temmuz 2019 - 18:21

UK warship fends off Iran bid to 'impede' its tanker in Gulf
By Dmitry ZAKS
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ATTENTION - ADDS Gibraltar arrest of Iranian captain, new details of
incident from UK defence sources ///
London, July 11, 2019 (AFP) - London said Thursday that armed Iranian boats
tried to "impede" a UK supertanker before being warned off by a British
warship in a dramatic escalation in the Gulf that jeopardises attempts to
salvage a landmark nuclear accord.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied involvement but also cautioned both the
United States and Britain that they would "strongly regret" the UK Royal
Marines' detention of one of the Islamic republic's own tankers off Gibraltar
last week.
The Gibraltar police brushed aside the warning and announced the arrest on
Thursday of both the Indian captain and officer of the seized Iranian tanker.
And President Donald Trump raised the US pressure by tweeting on Wednesday
that sanctions against Iran over its stepped-up nuclear activities would be
"increased substantially" soon.
The rapid chain of events further complicates Britain and other European
allies' efforts to salvage a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran from which
Washington pulled out more than a year ago.
The UK defence ministry said three Iranian boats tried to "impede the
passage" a commercial vessel called British Heritage. The 274-metre (899-foot)
tanker is owned by the British energy giant BP and can carry a million barrels
of oil.
"We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian
authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region," a Downing Street
spokesman said.
The Times newspaper reported that Britain is now considering whether to
send other naval resources to the Gulf.
Sky News said the transport ministry had issued new guidance to all
British-flagged commercial ships in recent days to go to a heightened state of
security in the area.
- 'Turned away' -
The UK defence ministry said that "three Iranian vessels attempted to
impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the
Strait of Hormuz".
"HMS Montrose was forced to position herself between the Iranian vessels
and British Heritage and issue verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, which
then turned away," the ministry statement said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- a vast and powerful security organisation
that the United States blames for staging several tanker attacks since May --
denied trying to seize or impede the UK tanker.
"There has been no confrontation in the last 24 hours with any foreign
vessels," the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.
UK defence sources told British media that the Revolutionary Guards boats
attempt to first stop and then divert the supertanker towards the Iranian
shore.
The UK warship then trained its guns on the Iranian boats and delivered a
"cease and desist" message by radio.
CNN reported that a US surveillance aircraft captured video footage of the
episode from above.
- 'Path of diplomacy open' -
The incident adds further fuel to a volatile mix of brinkmanship and sabre
rattling in a region already unsettled by the Trump administration's nuclear
standoff with Tehran.
Revolutionary Guards deputy commander Ali Fadavi called Britain's seizure
of Iran's tanker "stupidity... a trait the American president has in spades,
and the British to some extent".
"If the enemy had made the smallest assessment they wouldn't have done this
act," Fadavi said.
Officials in Gibraltar -- a British overseas territory on Spain's southern
tip -- said the cargo was believed to be destined for Syria.
Damascus is subject to EU sanctions while the United States has its own
sets of trade restrictions on Iranian oil.
Iran has increased uranium enrichment in response to the Trump
administration's decision last year to pull out of a controversial nuclear
agreement world powers signed after a decade of talks with Tehran.
It surpassed one limit set in that deal a month ago and breached a second
one on Monday.
- Compliance 'without delay' -
Britain and other European nations have been trying to preserve the deal by
setting up their own independent trade mechanism that evades US sanctions on
Tehran.
But Iran's decision to push ahead with higher enrichment is putting the
European strategy under strain.
European parties to the agreement issued a tough joint statement on Tuesday
saying Iran must return to full compliance "without delay".
Fellow deal sponsors Russia and China lay the blame for the confrontation
on the United States.
"This is Washington's deliberate, premeditated course to exacerbate
tensions," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
Tehran is also frustrated by the perceived failure of the remaining parties
to the deal to keep their promises and provide relief from the US sanctions.
zak/dt/har
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